I was interviewed yesterday for a unique investor project by Mr. Builder. We talked about the viewpoint each of us have toward the other in terms of typical Realtor or Builder behavior. It was fun and funny. One of the things that came out of the conversation for me was an aha moment about why Realtors are commissioned based and why we get paid as much as we do per transaction.

There are 2 kinds of people in this world. Those that hunt and kill, and those that prepare the table. It's hard for the food preparers to understand why a hunter gets paid $5,000, $10,000, or more for a single transaction. Mr. Builder told me, "Cathy, when I had a team of marketing people I heard them complain that Realtors make too much money and that they missed something on a contract. They would get pretty darn upset over a small oversight. One day I told my marketing staff, no more complaining. You wouldn't have a job if those Realtors didn't bring you any contracts to review. Any of you are welcome to cross over into the sales side, but you need to understand my expectations."

Work 6 days a week, and be on call for the 7th.

If you are off, dress nice anyway because you may get called into work.

No salary. Straight commission. Eat what you kill.

If you go on vacation, check in once a day on pending contracts.

You may work 50 hours this week and not make a penny.

We're only closed on Christmas Day. If you get a call during your Thanksgiving meal to see a house, even if you are the host, drop what you're doing to show the house.

If you don't make any sales in 60 days go look for another job.

Are there any takers?

What many consumers don't understand about Realtors is that we take on a huge risk of not getting paid, even if the buyer buys a house. We can list a house and then something terrible happens at the end that is out of our control, so we don't get paid. Sometimes it looks easy, but most times isn't. There is the law of averages that makes the difficult easier to absorb; so we appreciate the easy. We aren't employees - we are at the whim of the consumer for the most part. Sometimes we make tough choices that we don't tell our clients about - giving up our kids' baseball games, missing out on family parties and celebrations. Its part of the job as a fiduciary to our clients. It's not just about putting a sign in the yard or entering data into MLS. It's about risk and reward. Thanks Mr. Builder for understanding the difficult nature of our job. It's not all fun and games.

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